Day 4

A Separate Peace Lesson Plan

Discussion of Thought Questions

1

How does Gene's visit to Leper's house in Vermont compare to his visit to Finny's house?

(5 minutes )

The tone of the two visits is different. Whereas Gene had tried to apologize to Finny, Gene barely shows any compassion for Leper here and adopts what he calls a scornful sense of superiority. Gene even tries to kick him when Leper accuses him of crippling Finny. Filled with fear about what might become of him in the Army, and unable to comprehend what had happened to Leper, Gene almost becomes the savage he assured Finny he wasn't.

A Separate Peace Questions and Answers

I think Brinker suspects Gene because of the nature of the accident. Finny just did not fall off trees for no reason: he was too athletic. Brinker holds an impromptu court in the butt room where he goads Gene by asking him pointed and rhetorical...

Gene was never very competitive. It was Finny's constant competition that inspired Gene to shake the tree branch in the first place. I think Gene would agree that competition brought out the worst in him. Finny thrived on competition. He enjoyed...

These boys, like most adolescents, are trying to find their identities. They look to conform to many situations in order to be accepted. This is why they have "many faces" or have different personas depending on the circumstances.